A study in contrasts, the Florida Trail emerges from tropical hammocks and cypress strands within the Luckey Tract of Loxahatchee Slough to tiptoe behind homes in Jupiter Farms.
After paralleling the C-18 canal along the Pântano Trail, it has a mild wild feel at Riverbend Park along raised footpaths in a popular county park.
Crossing the river using a bridge along Indiantown Rd, a short walk past residences leads to the wilds again, this time the Loxahatchee River basin.
Despite swampy lowlands, underpasses beneath Interstate 95 and Florida’s Turnpike are a reminder Jupiter isn’t far away.
Rugged scrambles through cypress-lined tributaries of the Loxahatchee River lead to a walk-in entrance to Jonathan Dickinson State Park with backcountry camping at Kitching Creek.
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Overview
Location: Jupiter
Length: 10.7 miles linear
Trailhead: 26.934423,-80.175095
Fees: $2 fee for entering Jonathan Dickinson State Park on foot. $5 camping fee.
Restroom: Privies at Riverbend Park and Kitching Creek campsite.
Land managers:
For Loxahatchee Slough: Palm Beach County ERM, 561-233-2400
For Riverbend Park: Palm Beach County Parks, 561-966-6617
For Loxahatchee River Natural Area: South Florida Water Management District, 561-686-8800
Jonathan Dickinson State Park, 772-546-2771
Dogs are not permitted through this section. You may not leave cars at Loxahatchee Slough Natural Area or Riverbend Park overnight.
Either you’ll backpack into here from Corbett, or be dropped off at one of the Loxahatchee Slough trailheads, Jupiter Farms, or Riverbend to start your hike.
If the Loxahatchee River is flooded, do not attempt this section. It and its tributaries will rise and swamp the trail and its bridges.
Cypress Creek and Hobe Groves Canal are especially dangerous at flood stage.
Arrange camping at both ends in advance. Camping at Kitching Creek requires a small fee. Call Jonathan Dickinson State Park to reserve a spot.
To camp at Luckey Hammock in Loxahatchee Slough, contact Mary Canada at Palm Beach County ERM by phone Mon-Thu 9-4 at 561-233-2503 or 561-233-2400.
Camping permits are free. Campsite space is limited. No ground fires permitted.
Directions
See map above for day use access points at Loxahatchee Slough Natural Area, Jupiter Farms, and Riverbend Park. Jupiter Farms access is walk-in only. Backpackers will enter this segment of trail from either Corbett WMA or Jonathan Dickinson State Park, where overnight parking is permitted for a fee.
Hike
Luckey Hammock campsite is deep shade under a dense tropical cabbage palm forest within the Luckey Tract of Loxahatchee Slough Natural Area. You must backpack to reach it.
It is the starting point for this segment of the Ocean to Lake Hiking Trail. Follow the blue blaze to the main trail and turn left.
Lush and tropical, Luckey Hammock has marlberry and tall wild coffee in the understory as well as poison ivy. Sunlight streams through the ferns on the cabbage palms.
After a half mile, leave Luckey Hammock for the more familiar surroundings of Loxahatchee Slough, open prairies with scattered pines and cypress trees.
The trail ducks into a cypress slough, part of the original natural waterway now usurped by the C-18 canal.
Ascending into a tropical hammock briefly, enjoy the giant strap ferns and bromeliads on logs and tree branches. Wade across the cypress strand.
After the wade, it’s a shock to climb out of the cypresses into a wholly human-created space, the dike along the C-18 canal. Turn left at the kiosk and walk east.
Walking the graded Pântano Trail adjoining the C-18 is a stark contrast to the natural beauty along the footpath in Loxahatchee Slough.
Within a mile, a guardrail provides a place for backpackers to take a rest stop in this shadeless section. This is the walk-in trail access point marked on the map.
Watch for a blaze on the left after a water control structure. It takes the trail off the dike and down along the edge of the slough for shade and better views.
After 2.3 miles, reach the back gate to Riverbend Park. The path through here is crushed limerock and there are many signposts, as this is a park on the fringe of suburbia in Jupiter.
A quarter mile along the path, a side trail leads to the Orange Grove Picnic Area.
This is a nice place to take a break, as it has a large chickee shelter and a privy. We stopped here to dry our tent in the sunshine.
Crossing East Slough, a stream in a culvert, come up to a side trail, Main Trail, that leads out to the main parking area at Riverbend Park.
Continue past it, meandering through the pine and palm hammock.
The last left out to the parking area is at 3.6 miles via the East Slough Trail. Straight ahead, the Ocean to Lake Trail goes beneath Indiantown Road.
Now on the north side of the highway, it turns left, passing trailhead access to the Italian Farms Trail.
Cross a stile and continue parallel to Indiantown Rd. The trail joins a pedestrian walkway along the highway to cross the Loxahatchee River on the highway bridge.
Across the road are the only services along the Ocean to Lake Trail until Hobe Sound, a strip mall with convenience store, hardware store, and restaurants.
Leaving Indiantown Rd, the trail turns right, passing the historic Lainhart Cabin, a pioneer home.
Follow the blazes down an old road to enter Loxahatchee River Natural Area. By 5.5 miles, descend into the river floodplain.
After crossing BZs Creek and another tributary, ascend into scrubby flatwoods and scrub, rising up to meet the noise echoing off two major highways.
The trail ducks under both Florida’s Turnpike and Interstate 95, making a sharp left after the two underpasses.
On the east side of Interstate 95, it leads you through open scrubby flatwoods within sight of the highway before dropping into Hells Ditch, a good water source at 7 miles.
After a mile’s worth of scrub forest, cross Cypress Creek on a long bridge. It’s one of the larger tributaries and a beauty spot surrounded by a tropical hammock.
Exit the hammock into pine flatwoods. At 8.2 miles is a side trail to Cypress Creek East campsite, which requires no permit or payment for use.
Overlooking a pond, this primitive site has a picnic table and fire ring. Expect a drone of traffic off the highways to its west.
Following an old forest road, reach Hobe Groves at 8.8 miles. The old orange grove sits just above Moonshine Creek.
Cross that creek and plan to get your feet wet on the next one, crossing Hobe Groves Canal into Jonathan Dickinson State Park.
The creek bottom is not flat. Water can be calf to knee deep and sometimes more if you step in a hole. Use hiking sticks for balance.
Most hikers take off socks and shoes for the wade. It’s a big scramble up the other side before you can stop to put them back on.
Enter Jonathan Dickinson State Park, with a self-pay station for the entrance fee and camping fee. The blazes largely follow forest roads through the pine flatwoods.
A sign and a white-blazed side trail point the way to Kitching Creek campsite, 0.2 mile down the side trail. Reach it at 10.7 miles.
This is a large, pleasant camping area with a own composting privy and a pitcher pump for non-potable water.
Backpackers will appreciate the picnic tables and benches, especially at the large fire ring for groups to gather around.
Westbound
Florida Trail, Ocean to Lake: Corbett to Luckey Tract On this 12.1 miles of the Florida Trail between campsites at Corbett WMA and Luckey Hammock, discover the natural wonders of Hungryland Slough and Loxahatchee Slough.Explore More
Learn more about the Ocean to Lake Hiking Trail
Ocean to Lake Hiking Trail A 61-mile spur of the Florida Trail from Port Mayaca on the east side of Lake Okeechobee through forested landscapes to Hobe Sound Beach on the Atlantic Ocean.Slideshow
Our photos from hiking this section
Nearby Adventures
Jonathan Dickinson State Park One of South Florida's best backpacking destinations, Jonathan Dickinson State Park encompasses a vast mosaic of ecosystems along the wild and scenic Loxahatchee River.
Riverbend Park Protecting the headwaters of the Loxahatchee River, Riverbend Park provides nature, tamed.
Limestone Creek Natural Area Centered on pine flatwoods along a historic creek basin lined with mangroves, Limestone Creek Natural Area is a green gem in a busy corner of Jupiter.
Kitching Creek Nature Trail On the Kitching Creek Nature Trail, immerse in a small corner of the vast pine flatwoods communities extending across Jonathan Dickinson State Park. 
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